Cupertino (USA) (AFP)
Apple is putting video at the center of its new offering of products and services at discounted prices, and is taking Disney + by surprise with the launch of its Apple TV + video streaming platform as early as November 1, two weeks before Disney, in a hundred or so country.
The Californian giant also introduced Tuesday a new range of smartphones, the iPhone 11 (the basic model to 699 dollars), 11 Pro (999 dollars) and 11 Pro Max (1099 dollars, larger).
The iPhone 11 is equipped with a new chip, the "A13 Bionic", which should give a technical advantage to Apple compared to its competitors, while the iPhone is losing ground in a global market of smartphones in slow motion.
For years, Apple has organized presentations with great fanfare to unveil new iPhone, increasingly sophisticated, as the holiday season approaches.
But this time Apple has put forward its new services, which should allow it to diversify its ecosystem and break its dependence on its cow, the iPhone.
- Earlier and cheaper -
Less than $ 5, Apple TV + is almost half of the basic subscription to Netflix in the United States and two dollars below the price of the subscription to Disney +, which will be released two weeks after Apple TV +.
The new platform will only have a limited offering of original content at launch, but Tim Cook, the CEO, has promised to add new, fresh productions every month.
He has already presented "See", an original TV series starring Jason Momoa ("Aquaman", "Game of Thrones") as the lead performer, telling the story of a tribe in which children with the gift of sight are born. when all the rest of humanity has lost the ability to see.
The grand mass opened with the presentation of Apple Arcade, the new platform for video games on subscription whose launch is scheduled for September 19. It will be directly integrated into the App Store, its online application store, and will be available in more than 150 countries for $ 4.99 per month.
"Apple Arcade is the only place you have access to more than 100 exclusive and revolutionary games designed for the iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV," said Ann Thai, marketing manager of the App Store.
Apple has also launched a combined offer: buyers of a new iPad (available from September 30) or an iPhone or a computer brand will have a one-year subscription to Apple TV + integrated.
These are all ways to strengthen a broader but closed ecosystem of services.
"Maybe we'll see what Apple means when it talks about services and devices as a single, unified product," said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst at Creative Strategies.
- Double camera -
The group also highlighted the sophistication of new integrated cameras.
The iPhone 11 will have a dual camera on the back, wide and ultra wide and the sensor on the front of the camera, used for selfies, will film in slow motion. The iPhone 11 Pro will be equipped with a triple photo sensor.
Apple also insisted on longer battery life and better shock and water resistance.
The price of $ 699 for the basic iPhone 11 is lower than that of the iPhone Xr, the cheapest model released a year ago, and other high-end smartphones, such as iPhone XS, sold to around $ 1,000.
Contrary to its usual, the firm recalled that its old models are still on sale at mid-range prices, from 449 dollars for the iPhone 8 and 599 dollars for the iPhone XR.
Consumers have a tendency to keep their smartphone longer, and some expect models compatible with 5G, planned for 2020 at Apple (and already available at Samsung).
© 2019 AFP